We often get asked about easy smoker recipes suitable for beginners and quick to smoke. The idea of quick smoker recipes is unthinkable for some.

The obvious answer would include cooking at a higher temperature and using smaller cuts of meat that cook quickly.

The problem is that most people think smoker cooking is all about large, inexpensive cuts of meat being smoked slow and low until the connective tissues break down.

We’re not arguing with that point of view, but it is possible to smoke meats quickly and easily.

Mind you, ‘quick,’ smoker recipes could also be defined as anything you can smoke in under 4 hours!

Compared to pork butt and brisket which can take 10+ hours that is quick!

Easy Smoker Recipes 1 Buffalo Hot Wings

We all know that chicken wings are among the best meats for smoking. This quick and easy recipe for chicken wings will only take around 2 hours at 250°F.

If you want to smoke them at 275°F it would only take around 1 hour, but you wouldn’t get very much smoke flavour into the chicken.

It also comes with a homemade Buffalo Hot Sauce that can lead dangerously to addiction.

• 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika  
• 8 tablespoons of Butter
• ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Worcester Sauce
• ½ cup or 8 tablespoons of Tabasco Sauce –  substitute Frank’s Hot Sauce or Louisiana Hot Sauce
• 1/2 Teaspoon Chilli Powder (we like Extra Hot Chilli Powder but to taste) 
• Salt
• Pepper

Quick Smoker Recipes 2 Hot and Fast Ribs

Many people use the 321 method for smoking ribs and this takes around 6 hours altogether at 225°F.

These hot and fast ribs are easy to smoke and shave hours off the smoking time.

You cook at 300°F, wrapping the ribs in foil about an hour in when a bark develops and the whole process is done in 2 1/4 hours.

This method is even used by BBQ competitors.

There are also plenty of tips and suggestions for trimming your ribs, and clear instructions for beginners.

Easy and Fast Smoker Recipes 3 Smoked Chicken Thighs in 4 Easy Steps

These tasty little smoked chicken thighs only take 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If you want extra crispy skin you can crank up the heat at the end of the smoke. This is a really great and fast smoker recipe.

You cover the thighs with a delicious dry rub and then smoke them at 250°F.

You brush with BBQ sauce at the end of the cook, if desired.

• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

Quick Smoker Recipes 4 Grilled Chicken Kabobs

You could argue this is more of a grilling than a smoking recipe, but it is done on the smoker grills and you will get some smoke flavour in to your chicken if you pull the lid down.

Either way it’s certainly quick and easy for beginners!

Ingredients For Kabobs

• Wooden Skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 4 Chicken Breasts cubed
• Courgettes sliced into circles
• Red Onion sliced into chunks
• 2 Cloves of finely chopped Garlic 
• 4cm (1.5inch) piece of finely chopped Ginger 1/2 tin of Chopped Tomatoes
• 140g (0.6 of a cup) of Natural Yoghurt
• Olive Oil 
• 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Smoked Paprika
• 1 Teaspoon of Garam Masala 
• A splash of lime or lemon juice
• Optional – a little chilli powder for heat

The chicken and vegetables are marinaded in spices and yoghurt for at least 2 hours, and placed on skewers.

Your kebabs will only take around 20 minutes to cook on the BBQ grills, turning them over about halfway through the time.

You also have the option of making your own flatbreads and Garam Masala from scratch.

Delicious, quick and easy!

Easy Smoker Recipes 5 Smoked BBQ Vegetables

Vegetables take on that smoke flavour so much more quickly than meat, so they are definitely easy and fast smoker recipes!

You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand – there are so many options, vegetables are super versatile.

This recipe calls for the following ingredients:

• Yellow summer squash
• Red pepper 
• Red onion
• Zucchini or Courgette
• Olive oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Garlic
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

You drizzle the vegetables with Balsamic vinegar, add fresh garlic, salt and pepper and then smoke them for around 30 minutes at 350°F with the wood of your choice.

6 Smoked Rainbow Trout

We all know that fish cooks much more quickly than meat, especially the smaller fillets.

This is a quick and easy smoker recipe from Weber, and it’s really tasty, light, healthy and smoky.

Smoked Rainbow Trout Ingredients

• 2 whole cleaned rainbow trout around 600-800g each
• ½ cup of fresh dill
• ½ cup parsley
• 2 tablespoons of capers
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 lemons – 1 juiced and 1 thinly sliced
• salt & papper to taste

You smoke the rainbow trout for around 30-35 minutes at 230°F or 180°C over apple wood chips.

Easy Smoking Recipes 7 Smoked Plum Tomatoes

Smoking tomatoes really brings out the sweet flavour, and you get a lovely charred effect on the skins.

These are great for burgers, sandwiches, salsas, pizza or pasta sauce and a whole lot more!

All you need is 10 pounds of plum tomatoes, salt and lemon juice.

They only take 20 minutes in a pan placed in the smoker over mesquite or hickory wood.

Quick & Easy Smoker Recipes 8 Smoked Pork Chops

People often forget about this underrated and cheap cut of pork.

Pork chops can be very tasty, but even more so when they are smoked.

The chops are left to brine in water and a mixture of seasonings and spices overnight.

They are then rubbed with a spice rub before being placed in the smoker.

These tasty chops only take 45 minutes to 1 hour to smoke over apple wood.

Spice Rub Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of paprika
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon of pepper
• 1 tablespoon of salt

Beginner Smoker Recipes 9 Smoked Ribeye Steak

Individual steaks like Ribeye don’t take long to cook, not even in the smoker.

You smoke the steak for 20 minutes directly on the smoker grills at 180°F and then take it off and wrap it loosely in foil.

You then increase the heat to 450°F and place the steak back on the grills for around 5 minutes a side (for medium) until it comes up to the internal temperature of your desired doneness.

This is called a reverse sear because rather than searing the steak at the start of the cook, your sear it at the end after the smoke flavour has been imparted.

Better still the dry rub is just a mix of salt and pepper!

Easy, quick, tasty and smoky. Perfect for beginners!

Easy Smoker Recipes 10 Smoked Brats

You smoke the Bratwurst sausages at 225°F until they reach 140°F internal temperature. 

Then you place your smoked sausages in a beer and onion bath for a further 15 minutes until the internal temperature is 165°F.

Absolutely delicious served with in a roll with mustard!

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce – Less Than 1 Hour Smoker Recipe

If your smoker is up to the temperature of 450F this flank steak will be done after it has been cooked for 2-3 minutes a side. This means it is definitely one of the quickest meats to smoke. You could of course argue that smoking meat requires a long time, but to be fair a quick kiss of charcoal and wood at a high heat has its place sometimes too!

Chimichurri sauce adds a fantastic herby, vinegary and slightly spicy like nothing else.

Chimichurri for Steak Recipe on the Grills

Internal Temperature for Steak

Doneness	Remove From the Grills	Final Resting Temperature
Rare	118ºF/48ºC	120ºF/ 50ºC
Medium Rare	125ºF/52ºC	130ºF/ 54ºC
Medium	136ºF/58ºC	140ºF/ 60ºC
Medium Well	143ºF/ 62ºC	150ºF/ 66ºC
Well Done	154F/ 68ºC	160ºF/ 71ºC

Internal Temperature For Steak Guide

Best Meats to Smoke For Beginners

• Buffalo Hot Wings
• Hot and Fast Ribs
• Smoked Chicken Thighs
• Chicken Kabobs/Kebabs
• Rainbow Trout
• Smoked Pork Chops
• Smoked Ribeye Steak
• Smoked Bratwurst Sausages

If you’re feeling really brave you could try making the sausages from scratch.

Have a look at our ‘Smoked Sausage Recipe.’

If you enjoyed this article try our Pit Boss smoker recipes post.

Try this article for BBQ side dishes and ideas.

Or this quick and easy recipe for the grills – Carne Asada with Homemade Corn Tacos.

Related Quick Smoker Recipes

FAQ’s About Quick and Easy Smoker Recipes

What is the Quickest Thing to Smoke?

The quickest things to smoke are smaller cuts of meat such as chicken thighs, breasts and wings, sausages, individual steaks e.g. ribeye, lamb chops, pork chops, or country style ribs (these ‘ribs’ are boneless).

What Can I Smoke in my Smoker Quickly?

Here is a list of things you can smoke in your smoker quickly:

• Chicken Wings, Thighs & Breasts (Less Than 1 Hour)
• Any Type of Sausage (Less Than 1 Hour)
• Individual cuts of steak e.g. ribeye or sirloin (Less Than 1 Hour)
• Pork or Lamb Chops (Less Than 1 Hour)
• Country Style Ribs (Less Than 2 Hours)
• Whole Chicken (Less Than 3 Hours)
• Pork Loin or Pork Belly (Less Than 3 Hours)
• Pork Ribs At 300F or 149C (Less Than 3 Hours)

What can I Cook in a Smoker?

You can cook any kind of food in a smoker, however the classic foods to smoke would be ribs, pork butt, brisket, chickens, turkey and the like. You can also smoke vegetables, fruits or game meats such as venison or guinea fowl.

Quick and Easy Pit Boss Recipes

If you are looking for quick and easy recipes on your Pit Boss smoker this article might be helpful.

9 Quick & Easy Pit Boss Recipes For the Pellet Smoker

Easy Smoker Recipes for Beginners

If you would like to explore more on the topic of easy beginner smoker recipes try here.

Top 5 Easy Smoked Meats Recipes for Beginners

Unique Smoker Recipes

Sometimes we all want to try to smoke something a bit out of the ordinary – this article might just give you some ideas to begin with.

17 Unique & Surprising Things to Smoke in Your Smoker 

Pellet Smoker Recipes

Top 10 Best Pellet Grill Recipes for Beginners

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